SocialWorkers4Change

You are welcome to attend the #LeaveNoOneBehind Exhibition by @ATDIreland , which will explore this promise means to communities across Ireland When? Wednesday 23rd April, 2-4pm Where? Unit 18, @tcddublin in the Community; off Pearse St atdireland.ie/wp/leave-no-be…

This situation - shortage of Health & Social Care Professionals, including #SocialWorkers +++ and resulting lengthy waiting lists - is having significant and enduring negative impact on those awaiting essential services: irishexaminer.com/news/arid-4158… @IASW_IRL

How can social work strengthen intergenerational solidarity? Join our free webinar on Tue, 18 March (1:00-2:00 PM) to explore this year’s #WSWD2025 theme with expert speakers. Don’t miss it—register today! 🖥️➡️ bit.ly/3EsJt4o @sarahmdonnelly1 @IFSW @IASW_IRL

“School makes me feel slow” This @thejournal_ie investigates article delves into the usage of reduced timetables and their disproportionate impact on #Traveller and Roma children and children with specific educational needs. thejournal.ie/investigates-i… 1/

Our new travelling exhibition is looking for community venues willing to host us for a few days or more. During the exhibition, we can facilitate creative workshops & discussions around the theme of inclusion and the barriers people face #LeaveNoOneBehind atdireland.ie/wp/leave-no-be…

We are delighted to launch our new Strategy Statement this morning, where we outline our 5 new Strategic Priorities for the next 3 years. The Strategy is also available in a number of accessible versions: Easy to Read Braille ISL Find out more: ihrec.ie/about/strategy…

Join @IASW_IRL for a special World Social Work Day webinar on 18 March! 📅 Expect inspiring talks from @sarahmdonnelly1 & Valerie O Brien on kinship care, intergenerational solidarity & sustainable societies. #WSWD2025 #SocialWork Register for Free!➡️bit.ly/3EsJt4o

Parents of children with special needs have to 'jump through hoops' to access basic supports and services, the deputy leader of the Social Democrats has said rte.ie/news/ireland/2…

FLAC STATEMENT: Urgent Law Reform is needed to give effect to the Recommendations of European Human Rights Commissioner on Traveller Accommodation and Evictions. The recommendations align with calls from FLAC for meaningful legal changes. @eilis_barry flac.ie/news/2025/02/2…

‘Inaction or silence by Health Professional Associations in the face of the documented targeting of the health system and the civilians of Gaza must be read as complicity’. Irish Healthcare workers for Palestine's paper published in Journal of critical Study of communication and Disabilty today …ticalstudycommunicationdisability.org/index.php/jcsc…

…ticalstudycommunicationdisability.org/index.php/jcsc… @ann123fitz @BeddoeE @cuskellk @SWs4Change @SW4PalestineUK

A final reminder that a book launch event for 'Critical theory for Social Work' is happening this week. This in-person event will take place in the space outside the TRiSS Seminar Room in the Arts building at Trinity College Dublin on Thursday from 5-7. eventbrite.ie/e/book-launch-…

If you have some time, please do read the article below, from the Irish Foster Care Association Journal, 2021 issue of ‘Foster’, titled “Through the eyes of a child – my first hand experience of the foster-care system through the lens of ‘dual culturalism” 1/

We're looking forward to reviewing your proposals for presentations at our upcoming all island conference on #socialwork and migration with our colleagues @BASW_NI @cuskellk @CollettaDaliken @Sineadmcgar @VGeiran @AmandaC62359371 @PracticeLinks @BrophyGer @dcediy @MuireannNiR

I was incredibly delighted to be present to bear witness to todays’ event in Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, which officially launched the Limerick Traveller Network’s “Traveller Education Change” project report. 1/

I've been inundated today with questions about the Occupied Territories Bill, so let me get a few things clear. Firstly, it makes no real difference whether Government passes my legislation, or comes forward with its own. I honestly don’t care who gets the credit for it, or whose name is on the end of a Bill. I have been fighting for this bill since 2018 for one reason – because I firmly believe that it is the right thing to do. The settlements are totally illegal, rob families of their land, and undermine the prospects for peace. We say this again and again, but then trade in the proceeds of the crime. It is hypocritical and has to stop! What actually matters is the policy. Whether it is my Bill, or a Govt Bill, the key thing is: will it implement a *full ban on all trade* with the illegal settlements? Will it do what is required of us under international law, as made crystal clear by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), or will there be carve outs or exemptions or a watering down? This is the one question every journalist, activist and politician should be asking when the Dáil reconvenes, and when any legislation is moved forward – regardless of who has sponsored it. Second, many commentators would like us to forget about international law, so I am going to remind them. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest court in the world, issued an historic finding. It found that not only is the occupation illegal, that the settlements are illegal, but that there is a legal “obligation” on all states not to trade with them. This is a clear requirement set out by the highest court in the world. The question now is whether we will take it seriously. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have both referred to these “obligations”, and I’m glad to see this recognition. The PfG also commits to following the ICJ. But the court was absolutely clear: states must “abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings” and “prevent trade or investment relations” with Israel regarding the occupied territories and the illegal settlements (para 278). There is no ambiguity here. They do not separate this out into physical goods on the one hand and services on the other, because it is not the 1950s. Trade means trade. We cannot just attempt to ignore one aspect of this because it is politically more challenging. What we are asking for here is also not new. In 2014 Ireland and the EU quickly banned trade in goods *and* services with Russian-occupied territory. This full ban was implemented within months of Russian’s illegal occupation of Ukrainian territory, and rightly so. Why should there be a double standard? International law must be applied equally and consistently, or else it means nothing. This matters even more given the EU’s shameful response to the genocide in Gaza. I will say it again: if we want to give effect to the ICJ ruling then the quickest and best way to do that is to pass the Occupied Territories Bill. I have no issue with technical amendments to strengthen and improve it, and it is misleading and unfair to suggest otherwise. But what matters is that a full ban is implemented and that we stick to our commitments. No more theft of land without consequences. No more ifs or buts. Ireland can lead on this, and there’s no more time to waste. I truly believe we’ve gotten this far because ordinary people all over the country have spoken out and demanded action. We have to keep doing so, starting outside the Dáil next Weds 22nd and at the @ipsc48 march in Dublin this Saturday 25th. See you there. Frances

There’s more info in the pictures below and the link to book your place is here ⬇️⬇️ iasw.ie/events/609-saf… 2/